


It's a Requirement, Not a Suggestion

by Sohama



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Dead Claudia Stilinski, Derek works at an attraction park!, Evil Kate Argent, First Meetings, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Hope, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Kate Argent/Derek Hale, POV Derek, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Teen Derek, kid stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 01:36:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16075607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohama/pseuds/Sohama
Summary: Derek just wants to be loved and he'll do anything for it to happen. Yes. Even work in a freaking attraction park so that he can buy Kate a present.But he meets a brown haired kid and it changes everything.





	It's a Requirement, Not a Suggestion

Derek hates the job he gets that summer. But. He’s sixteen and there aren’t a lot of things that he can do and less people that want to employ him. That’s how he ends up being an operator for the small attraction park near Beacon Hills. It’s an annoying job, out in the sun all day, doing the same motion again and again, and with a co-worker that’s having a fucking power trip because he’s supposed to ‘supervise’ Derek.

Honestly, Derek is very close to simply not showing up to his job. He hates hearing people screaming all day long. He hates the way Tristan dogs his every steps and the way the guy stinks like cat piss. He hates the fact that he’s bored to death and he still has to kiss his co-worker’s ass just so that he’ll get a few bucks at the end of the day.

But, hey. No matter how much he loathes the whole thing, he still has a goal, and that goal is to save up some money to buy a nice present for Kate… or something. He doesn’t know what he’s going to get. Doesn’t know what would truly make her happy. (He’s kind of terrified actually, she seems so intense and she clearly isn’t his soulmate, but he just wants someone to love him, so he tries not to think too much).

“Derek!” Tristan yells at him.

The werewolf looks at the older teen, barely containing a sigh of frustration. He walks to the carts where the fresh batch of people are waiting to start the ride. Rapidly, Derek starts to lower the metal bars on each rows, securing the people for the attraction. When he gets to the last row, however, he finds a small brown haired kid.

The kid, who has to be about ten years old, doesn’t look at him, waits to be secured in like there isn’t anything wrong. Now, Derek knows the child is clearly too small to get on the ride. Maybe something like two or three inches too short. If Derek were by himself and not trying to keep this job, he would let the kid pass. Especially when he smells just how miserable the child is. A ride would perhaps make him a bit happier, but… Tristan has his eyes on him. And Derek knows he hesitated too long, so Tristan knows there’s a situation here and he won’t be gentle with the kid if Derek lets the teen handle the situation.

“Uh… kid, I don’t know how you got up here, but it’s clear I can’t let you pass.”

The kid’s head snaps up, his brown eyes big like saucers as his mouth opens up. He begins to smile before the expression melts off his face. “Why not? I  _ totally _ got in in the right way!”

Derek feels the world stop for a second. His hand quickly goes to his left shoulder where the words the kid has just said are tattooed on his skin. Holly shit. What the heck. Is this real? Fuck… how  _ old _ is this kid? Are they really… ?

Derek is shocked. So shocked that the situation seems surreal.

“Uh…” he doesn’t know what to say. What is he supposed to say? He’s not sure he likes the idea of having such a younger soulmate. And a boy? He never thought… “Kid. Listen, you’re too small for the ride. I can’t let you…” He lets his sentence fall into silence.

The two of them are staring at one another until Tristan eventually snaps. “Derek!”

They jump in surprise. The kid looks over to the frustrated teen before standing up. Derek steps aside to let the kid move away from the ride.

“This is so dumb,” the kid mutters. “I’m almost tall enough.”

Derek snorts in amusement, making the child look up. Derek doesn’t know why he finds this funny. If Cora had said something similar, he wouldn’t react the same way, he knows. But… this kid is something else. Not only did he succeed in hiding through the crowds to come up here, but he didn’t act chastised when he did get caught. The kid has character.

“You know the height measurement is a requirement and not a suggestion, right?” Derek can’t help but ask.

“Height measurement is a form of tyranny, they just want to keep the best rides for the adult,” the kid says back without losing a beat.

At that, Derek has to put a hand in front of his mouth because he laughs so hard that he surprises himself. Tristan doesn’t find this funny at all though. “Derek! Are you going to stand there all day? Move away!”

It’s only by reflex that Derek does as told despite how rude the teen is. He takes a few steps back, but then the kid grabs his arm as he follows him.

“Don’t talk to him like that!” he shoots at the teen.

Tristan simply rolls his eyes before pushing on a button behind the controls. The carts suddenly start advancing, leaving only the three of them together. But then Tristan doesn’t have a problem ignoring them, which Derek doesn’t mind.

“What’s your name?” the kid asks, his eyes full of an emotion Derek is too scared to name.

“Uh… Derek. Derek Hale,” the werewolf eventually answers. “What’s yours?”

“Stiles! Stiles Stilinski!” the kid announces proudly.

At those words, Derek instantly understands why Stiles was feeling so sad. After all, his father is the Sheriff and everybody knows that the man lost his wife barely a month ago. Derek feels his heart break for his young soulmate.

“You’re really handsome,” Stiles blurts out, making his face red.

Derek scowls. Because it has to be inappropriate that he likes being called handsome by a kid, right? “You’re kind of supposed to think that,” he tries to dodge the compliment.

Stiles shakes his head, a big smile on his face. “Nuh-uh! It’s not because we’re soulmates that I  _ have _ to think you’re beautiful. It’s not a requirement! It’s just a fact!”

Derek feels himself blushing. Blushing because no one has ever said something as kind to him in a long time. It’s everything he has been trying to find in Kate but couldn’t because she’s not his and he’s not hers. It makes him feel… good. Happy. Calm. And less bitter with life.

“Thank you,” he tells the kid because he doesn’t know what else to say.

Stiles is about to say something else when they both hear someone scream the kid’s name. Stiles perks up before running towards the voice, dodging other people as he goes. “Dad!”

Derek immediately runs after the kid, scared that Stiles will hurt himself or get lost. That’s when he realises also that he doesn’t have any inappropriate feelings for the kid. At least, not for now and probably not for a few years still. He just wants the kid to be okay.

He quickly catches up with Stiles only to find the kid in the arms of the Sheriff.

“Oh, kid. Don’t run away like that you hear me?” the man’s voice is brittle, full of unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, dad. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Stiles apologises before giving a big hug and then stepping away. He turns to look at Derek and a smile blooms on his face. “I just felt a pull and look what I found!”

Stiles points at Derek, making the Sheriff look at the werewolf. The man frowns, not understanding what is happening. And for a good reason too. No one felt a pull towards their soulmate. It has to be confusing to the man, but to Derek, it means that Stiles might be something… more.

“Derek Hale?”

Stiles nods before jumping to Derek and taking his hand between both of his. “Yeah! I went to this ride and I was too small for it. But you know me, I bypassed the height measurement. I was  _ so _ close to getting into the ride but then-”

The Sheriff sighs good-naturally, a faint smile on his face. “Get to the point, kiddo.”

“Derek is my soulmate!” Stiles says, all excited.

The man’s jaw drops in surprise. “Oh! Oh, I didn’t expect that.”

There’s a short moment where Derek is scared the Sheriff will ask him to leave his boy alone and, honestly, it’s not like Derek wouldn’t understand. Derek would never, ever hurt Stiles, but there has always been a controversy about soulmates meeting this young while having a certain age difference. But then the Sheriff really smiles and it transforms his face, turning the miserable man into a man that now has hope.

“Congratulation, Stiles!”

Stiles goes to hug his father once more and Derek is able to smell the boy’s desperate relief. He’s pretty sure that Stiles hasn’t seen his father this happy in a long while.

“So, Derek,” the Sheriff says once he’s done hugging his son. “Would you like to come over one evening?”

Derek nods eagerly. “I would really like that, sir.”

John smiles and Stiles beams.

“Today?” Stiles asks, making John chuckle.

“Come on, kiddo. What did I say about being-”

But Derek doesn’t let the Sheriff finish that sentence. “I’m free tonight.”

“Yay!” Stiles yells.

The Sheriff shakes his head. “Alright then. Tonight at six o’clock?”

They exchange addresses and phone numbers before saying goodbye. Derek feels the need to scent mark Stiles, but he refrains himself. Tonight. Tonight he might be able to without anyone noticing. So he just waves at Stiles when they all go their separate ways, and smiles when he hears the kid saying that they have to go to the grocery store to make a good meal this evening.

Derek walks back to his station with a smile. Tristan, on the other hand, has a deep scowl.

“Where the fuck have you been?” the teen asks. “You’re working! Not the time to disappear!”

Derek rolls his eyes. Openly. In front of his power tripping co-worker. It doesn’t help the situation, but Derek can’t really find it in himself to care.

“I’ll talk to the supervisor,” Tristan threatens Derek.

The werewolf just shrugs. He’s not scared of losing this lousy job. He just wants to go to Stiles’ house. He was originally planning to see if he couldn’t convince Kate to go out with him tonight but…

But he really doesn’t want anything to do with her. Not anymore. He doesn’t care about her flirty smile or her revealing clothes. He’s actually kind of hurt that she’s been yanking on his chain for weeks, months, without it going anywhere. He’s tired of her making him feel like a graceless child trying to gain a goddess’ attention. And he’s ashamed to see how far he was willing to go, just to have someone’s love.

He doesn’t need her. Not when he has Stiles. And he doesn’t need to work to buy her some freaking jewelry that is way too costly, just so that he can buy her love. It shouldn’t… It shouldn’t be a requirement, to be able to be in a fucking relationship.

So Derek takes his cap and shirt off, both property of the company, and throws them at Tristan’s feet, making the teen jump in surprise.

“Yeah, you talk to the supervisor and tell him that I quit.”

And with that, Derek walks away, knowing deep down that he made the right decision.


End file.
